Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran and its allies might try to disrupt Tuesday's elections in Israel with attacks, warning Tehran that Jerusalem would respond with overwhelming counterstrikes.
"We have intelligence signs that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office on Sunday.
"Don't test us. You will suffer disproportionate blows," he said, adding that the Israeli military was postured for defensive and offensive operations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday it "makes no difference" who wins the Israeli election. At a press briefing in Tehran, he was asked about reports in Israeli media that Iran might launch a preemptive military strike to disrupt the vote.
"I do not think there are elections there in the true sense of the word," Baghaei said, according to Iranian state-run media IRNA. "It is a race among individuals, each trying to prove that they can commit more crimes, aggression, and killings than the others."
Baghaei's remarks came as Tehran prepared to host senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey - the three signatories of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement - to discuss regional security and de-escalation of the conflict between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other. 
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